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30 September 2015

I'm polishing up my LinkedIn profile in anticipation of making a slow re-entry into the work force.

If we're connected via LinkedIn, and you feel comfortable doing so, would you please go to the "Skills and Endorsements" section of my profile (bottom half between "Experience" and "Education") and endorse me for skills you feel I have demonstrated running Canada's Magic? Some skills that would be relevant include, but are not limited to:

Blogging

Social Media

Social Media Marketing

Social Networking

Writing

Additionally, if you feel comfortable leaving a comment or two in the "Recommendations" section (bottom of page), I'd be grateful. In addition to the previously listed topics, some areas that would be relevant include, but are not limited to:

27 September 2015

The contest to win anInstant Magician hoodiefrom Gwyn Auger closed last night at midnight. We had some great mentions of awesome magic assistants. Some of you even went for bonus points, picking Gwyn as your favourite assistant!

Here's the list of entrants:

1

Mike S.

Gwyn...of course!

2

Daniel L.

Paul Daniels assistant is Debbie McGee

3

Lee

Sandra Szeles (Amazing Johnathan)

4

Thanh

Penn & Teller, because I don't know which one
is the assistant :D

5

John H.

Nani Darnell

6

Dan M.

Mr Piffles (Piff the Magic Dragon)

7

Debbie L.

Of course it's Gwyn!

8

Tyra B.

Gwyn, of course!

9

Doug C.

A lady whose name I forget who took a large cloth
from Murray Hatfield and walked gracefully offstage with. Because no one
noticed the thing that it was crucial they not notice.

On the afternoon we went, we were lucky enough to catch four different
magicians performing on the pitch. While all of them were noteworthy in
some fashion, one performance stood out the most for me. I've never seen
anything like it before and it's one of those instances where it makes
you reflect on your own life.

Magic Man Andrew Eland, a wonderful
comedian and sleight-of-hand artist by way of South Africa, is that
act. He's got an amazing knack (one of the best) for insanely difficult
sleight of hand. Multiply that by the fact he's an excellent performer
(and super funny), and you'll start to understand why he's considered a
true legend among the underground.

During his performance we saw that day, something terrible happened. Not
bad like finding the wrong card, but honestly terrible and
gut-wrenching in the kind of way that sends shivers down your spine. As a
performer, I never want to face this. Ever. Right there, I watched it
happen to Andrew.

I will be holding a random draw to determine the winner. (There will be
one winner.) The draw results will be posted Saturday, October the 3rd.

To enter:

Log into the RaffleCopter widget below, using Facebook or a valid e-mail address.

Mandatory: Leave a comment in the widget, letting us know the name the first magic book you remember reading. (You do not need to be a magician to
enter the contest. The book could be Harry Potter.)

Optional: For an additional entry, use the RaffleCopter widget to send this message to your Twitter followers:"Enter by Oct 2 to win a copy of "Morton the Magician" by @SheldonCasavant via @canadasmagichttp://canadasmagic.blogspot.com/2015/09/win-copy-of-morton-magician-and-his.html"

If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and shipping information for me to share with Sheldon.

The fine print:

To participate in the contest, you must be 18 years of age or older.

Limit of one mandatory entry and one optional entry per person.

This giveaway is open to Canadian residents excluding residents of Quebec.

This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.

If you experience difficulties leaving a comment, you may e-mail it
to me for posting. (I am not responsible if your e-mail is misdirected
or gets stuck in my Spam folder.)

You must be able to use the prize as offered. (No cash value will be offered.)

The odds of winning depend on how many people enter the contest.

The contest closes Friday, October the 2nd at 11:59pm ET.

With thanks to Sheldon for generously making this prize available to you!

I was generously provided a copy of "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show." This book, which was shortlisted for an Alberta Children’s Literature Award, is intended for young readers. With that in mind, I found a youthful reader who agreed to read and give me their feedback on the book. (For more on "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show" skip to the bottom of the post.)The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as Kidlet.

--My thoughts onSheldon Casavant's book "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show."

This is a good picture book for parents to read to their kids.

I really like the drawings, they're very nice.

Morton is someone that children can relate to.

I like that there are two tricks in the book that you can do by yourself.

It's funny that the rabbit is the announcer.

If I were younger, it would make me want to try doing magic tricks.

Parents, if your child under 6 years old likes magic or wants to be a magician, this is the perfect book for them!

Favourite things:

I like the words in the air before Morton's show, letting us know what's going on inside his head.

The story tells us we can be anything we want to be if we just put our minds to it.

25 September 2015

From Le Lab Magique's Facebook page:A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

24 September 2015

From Mind Bender's Twitter feed:The content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

22 September 2015

Gwyn Auger is generously offering our readers a chance to win one of her creative designs!

Be an Instant Magician! "Saw the lady in half, again and again with the ease of the zipper... Bring out your inner magician!"

From Gwyn's Twitter feed:A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

From Mahdi Gilbert's Twitter feed:The content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

20 September 2015

Shamans, ravens, jesters, jugglers, conjurors, and magicians come in all shapes and sizes. In Tricks,
David Ben - Soulpepper's resident trickster - presents a concert of
magic inspired by an eclectic range of people and events: Frank Sinatra
and Telford Fenton; Glenn Gould and Charles Bertram; Harold Lloyd and
Harry Houdini; Tom Waits and Erik Satie; Hammer Studio Films and
Southern Baptist preachers; and Dai Vernon and the cherry blossoms in
Japan.

Ben, recognized as one of the top sleight-of-hand artists in the
world, will showcase some of the most challenging and seldom-seen pieces
of magic, all completely different than last year’s The Conjuror.
There is no timeline or plot - just great tricks - comical and
mysterious, beautiful and visceral - performed with twists and turns.

19 September 2015

See Chris Pilsworth on October 18th at the 5th Annual Education for Africa Variety Show.

From Barry Finlay's Facebook photo:The content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

16 September 2015

Late to the game in reminding you that there's magic at the 2015 Vancouver Fringe Festival. Calgary's James Jordan, London's Keith Brown, and Vancouver's Travis Bernhardt all have shows in the festival this year.

Chad Juros, 27, is a child leukemia survivor who has established a foundation called “Spread the Magic”
where he travels the world performing magic for children with cancer
“in the hopes that they can find magic in their lives as Chad did in
his,” Juros’ mother, Penny Juros Bilker, told ABC News.

“The day Chad was born was such a wonderful, magical day for our
family,” Juros Bilker, 57, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, said
about her son. “He was a very sweet, kind, loving, energetic,
happy-go-lucky kid.”

ATLANTIC CITY —
Dozens of family members, friends and beachgoers gathered Wednesday in
front of Bally’s to honor Chad Juros, an Egg Harbor Township resident
who beat leukemia — twice.

His mother, Penny, entered him in
a contest with “Good Morning America” called “Above and Beyond,” his
family said. Juros, 27, won out of 100 entrants and was surprised from a
spot in Bally’s to see a crowd on the beach yelling and cheering. The
group formed an outline of a deck of cards in the sand.

11 September 2015

Hosted by Mike Bullard star CFRB radio and his own television show Open Mike with Mike Bullard, this is a once in a decade variety show. Starring Jeff & Tessa Evason, world famous mentalist duo described by NBC television as "The best act of their kind in the world", comedians David Merry, and Glen Foster of CBC's Comics, Mini Holmes star of She's so Funny, David Peck, a pure skill manipulation magic act right out of vaudeville, comedy magician Matt Disero Seen on The Comedy Network, cruise ship and military peacekeeping tours the world over, plus Scott Norman the most handsome juggler ever.....and a host of other acts. This is a show not to be missed !

10 September 2015

The Morinville Community Cultural Centre will kick off its fifth LIVE at the CCC performance series Sept. 26. Half a decade into bringing entertainment to Morinville it is no surprise that Cultural Services Coordinator Laurie Stalker sees this season as a magical time. It is also no surprise that the first show of that magical season is a magician. Sheldon Casavant will open the season with his entertaining and interactive show Sept. 26 at 3:30 p.m. The event, sponsored by Morinville Sobeys, offers families an affordable afternoon of entertainment. Tickets are $10 per person or $30 per family (maximum four people).

Casavant is recognized as one of Canada’s most sought after performers, one who involves his audience with a highly interactive repertoire of magic.

02 September 2015

If you’ve ever seen Mark demo at a convention, you know what a great, entertaining performer he is. Through JB Magic, he has been responsible
for releasing some of the greatest effects in magic. However, because
he’s so well known as a dealer, people forget he’s actually a great
performing magician as well. This lecture is not just a dealer’s demo,
he’ll be teaching his favourite effects that you can go out and use to
amaze your audiences.

Sunday, September 20Mark Mason is simply one of the best in the world!

He has put out some of the best tricks ever including: Word in a
Million, Thirteen, No Tear Newspaper, X-Act, Shoe-T, Hole Sensation,
Club Sandwich, Optical Ropes and more and more and Tons of killer Coin
Effects.

But wait until you see his new goodies!

The truth is that for the past twenty years or so the largest crowd at any magic convention is at Mark Mason's booth.